Photographer goes to concert.
Photographer photographs famous artist on stage during performance.
Photographer did not sign anything pertaining to photography of said artist.

I sign photography releases all the time that say I cannot do anything beyond publishing the photos in a newspaper or magazine.
This is not one of those times.

Can a photo taken under such circumstances be submitted to a photo contest if this is one of the rules?

Each submitted photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material taken by the Contest entrant. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, covenants and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the photograph.

Sometimes people post a request for advice on this forum and few people respond.

Since you asked....

I will give you a few comments, and perhaps others will have a difference of opinion.

You might get better answers in the Pro forum here on FM.

There are so many contests and SO many variables and unknowns.

You don't mention the type of contest. Is it a "concert" photo contest?

Or is is a general subject contest?

Local school contest or major magazine (NG) or who knows what?

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You should ask a lawyer.

But, given your quoted statement (from the contest management) about "not infringe...publicity" I would say you risk something (though who knows the extent of risk) by using a famous person's photo in a contest with some "gain" involved.

Sounds like the contest management does not want to have potential problems with copyright issues (which is smart) and so even IF they liked the photo they may not choose it because of risk/issues. I would skip it if I were a judge/contest management.

There's hundreds of people, if not more, taking pictures during the event. When I was an entertainment writer and photographer, I took pictures all the time at concerts and published them in our newspaper.

I can't imagine anything keeping you from entering the contest. Especially if it's a concert photography concert. The level of fame has nothing to do with it. Enter.

...and you should be especially careful if the contest rules include a "hold harmless" clause which basically says that you, the photographer, will defend (i.e. pay the legal fees) of anyone who inherited the rights to your image by virtue of the contest rules and was then later sued by someone (i.e. the artist). You should also be aware that many contest organizers also stipulate that they can transfer (i.e. sell) the rights to your work to third parties.

I was shooting for a large American newspaper in Europe, and they wanted the pictures printed. So I never signed a release. The department you're usually working with to get your pass is called Promotions. They want pictures published, just as I expect they would want pictures put in contests.

If you think about it, limiting your ability to publish the pictures defeats the purpose of taking pictures, even from their angle. They need the publicity.

It's fine to use such photos for editorial purposes. But you can't use them for advertising purposes without consent from the people in the photo. Not sure where a contest fits in, especially if you win a prize. Also, usually a company running the contest uses the winning photos in some sort of advertising campaign to promote their own company. If this is the case then I don't think you/they could legally use your photo without a release. Of course the fine print puts the onus on you to have secured any rights needed.

I'm with Steady... if you're seriously thinking about entering it consult a lawyer first. Clearly you will not get consensus on this forum.